Travel Planning: Moving Daydreams to Dates

We’ve been living in Hawaii this last month – watching palm trees sway before an azure sea and sky; a most pleasant change from the dark, gray (and very wet) winter days that exist at our more-full-time Pacific Northwest home.

But no matter where we are, January is a time to get serious about the year’s future big-trip travel plans. 

We used our laid-back days to move our daydreaming to dates on the calendar.

As all travelers know, nabbing frequent flier seats and booking rooms on hotel points, isn’t something that can wait until the last minute.

And travel – despite continuing dire economic reports in the media -- is on an upswing. If you don’t believe that, just take a walk through Waikiki – or book a hotel room there (and prepare for sticker shock).
 


I’d set my sights on Greece for a spring trip and so focused on it were we, that quite frankly we hadn’t been thinking about fall until The Scout found us an incredible deal while Web surfing. 


A springtime trip to our favorite places in Greece was my day dream for celebrating my summer ‘Big One Birthday’.  The Scout has nailed down the frequent flier miles and purchased tickets that will get us to Athens and back. We are using the ‘where the wind blows us-or the ferry sails’ approach to travels after reaching Athens.

And then there’s the Fall trip. . .you won’t believe where we are headed or the deal that we got! I’ll tell you about it on Travel Tip Tuesday. 

In  the meantime, a number of you’ve asked how we go about finding deals.  To check The Scout’s favorite resources, visit our Deal Finder page.

A 'Fill-in-the-blank-cation'

Vacation  

That word was the focus of on one of my favorite writing blogs this week, Macmillan Dictionary (yes, they do have a blog and I sometimes read it) and it got me thinking about travel. . .what else is new, right? Some of you are convinced that I think of nothing but travel. 

But, back to "vacation". . .have you been thinking about one of late?

If you are, or even if you aren't, consider some of the new variations to that once tried and true definition of this word meaning "freedom or a respite of time away from something."

The recession brought about the concept of the Staycation, staying at home, camping out in the back yard, saving money.
Then there was the 'skip-it-all' talk of such activities with the Naycation.
The quick getaway became a Daycation.
Hoteliers with spa features quickly captured the concept of Spacation.

The blog suggested that if you start off somewhere and change your mind midway through the trip, could it be a Straycation?
Or how about starting an adventure and quiting before it is complete? Of course, a Halfwaycation.

As I thought about the wretched weather we've had in the world the last few months we might want to add: Delay-cation for those whose flights have been cancelled.  Or for those who make a vacation out of seeking minor elective medical treatments, does it become a Medi-cation?
Is a get-away for boys a Mancation (with Womancation for the opposite sex)? Similar to Man- Caves and Woman-Caves.

Just think what Dr. Seuss could do with this. Like his Cat in the Hat, put on your vacation dreaming hat. . . what type of 'cation' would you take?  Share your ideas in the comment section below: